Wordless Wednesday

These dang Colorado clouds and weather. Yet another storm that literally went around us. Haha.  Enjoy a Toby walk with thunder rumbles in the background. ;)

Dumbo Double Dare Training - Week 6

A day late but here nonetheless!  Life has been up and down with it's crazy moments - especially at work.  I had this post almost totally typed up yesterday and then lost it (that's what I get for trying to work on my phone, as it apparently doesn't auto save...) but I'm trucking on through!

Last week I got in 2 of my 3 runs for DDD Training, and did not make it to any hot yoga classes.  Small improvements people!  haha

I did a 2 mile run on Tuesday (the run before I made Toby's cake!) and it actually went really well.  I got to rock my Rock 'n Roll tank that I had just received in the mail, as I par took in their Vegas Virtual 5k a few months back.  So, I was feeling schanzzy in my new gear, and got (another!) fast mile on my Garmin, with my first mile clocking in at 9:27.  Considering I got my Garmin for my birthday back at the end of April, it's been fun to see my 'fastest mile' goal decreasing and seeing the other variety of goals it now tracks for me...since MapMyRun didn't do any of that for me previously.

Woo for a new goal!  Now to be able to maintain it...

On Saturday, the hubs decided he too would run my DDD Training 4 miles with me.  Considering our Dopey training will be beginning in a few weeks (eeek!) he's got to get back at it too.  We drove over to our local park to run our trail route and started off together, but ultimately he got off ahead of me and I never really caught up - though I did always try to keep him in my eyesight. ;)

We had a discussion afterwards about how we have the need to walk not because our legs are tired, but because of our lungs.  While there PLENTY of people who run here and get over this, it's something that has been a constant struggle (maybe due to my childhood asthma...?) and I had using it as a crutch every time I run.  It's just so annoying.  Given I know I can run consistently (ie I ran like 4 mile straight at the start of the WDW Half in January) at sea level, it just sucks.  I'm hoping to work through this, and know I need to have better breathing while running regardless of the way the altitude zaps it out of me.  Even with my walking breaks, my heart rate does stay elevated for the whole time, so at least the rest of my body is functioning appropriately.  If only I could breathe!

I had some fun on my last mile back and took some snaps of the trail.  I was also counting down from 26.2 miles to start getting mentally prepared for THAT countdown. haha  Just gotta take it one mile at a time!

Beautiful day for a run!

Run selfie!

Love a good trail run, and yay for shaded parts!

An exciting part of this run was I was breaking in my new Mizuno Wave Inspire 11s!  My Mizuno Wave Inspire 10s have been giving me heel issues for the last few weeks, and I knew it was definitely time to upgrade.  I did stop by my local running store to be evaluated again, just to see if anything changed with my feet over the last year when I was first evaluated.  I highly recommend doing this at your own local running store, as your sneaks are such a key to your run and your running health!  While I did try on a few other brands, nothing beats the cushiness of my Mizunos, so I'm sticking with them (though they did have be go up another 1/2 size).  I felt great after my 4 miles AND no heel pain, yay!

New sneaks! <3

I also found a discounted pair of my Mizuno 10s online that I ordered so I can better rotate my shoes, which I didn't do in my first year as a runner, as I know I should really do that come Dopey in January.  You know you're a runner when...you get excited over sneakers! lol

After the run we did take Toby on a 1 mile walk - he was fairly cooperative on it, as he's been getting more and more moody about walking lately.  I don't know if it's his "old" age or the heat...but man he will just put the breaks on sometimes and want to go home, where as he use to always love going out on long jaunts!

I just wanted to also note we saw Jurassic World Saturday night (it was a full fledge date night! Dinner and  movie...and Dairy Queen for the Jurassic Smash blizzard!) and I highly recommend it!  The other weekend we watched the first 3 Jurassic movies on TV, which was a good refresher.  It's a great throw back to the original, and I love Chris Pratt. They left it wide open for a sequel, which is clearly happening given it's record breaking numbers...so if you haven't seen it and loved the original, check it out! 

We spotted John Hammond from the original JP movie at DQ - he had the full outfit! lol

Sunday we went back over to the park with Toby, as the hubs was going to run and I was going to treat Toby to a walk on the trail.  Let's just say...he wasn't having it. haha  We got going for a good maybe minute? on the trail and then he put on the breaks and wanted to walk back to the start, which is more of a park like area.  We spent time hanging out in the shade people/dog watching and started to move a little bit by the time the hubs was back from his 3 mile run...pathetic!  haha  Oh well - I spent most of the time on the phone with one of my BFFs who I'm running with in Disneyland, so it was nice to catch up and just hang in the nice weather, even if Toby was being stubborn. ;)  

Looking forward to another lovely Colorado week here and building up my mileage for the Half...I am so excited for it and the 60th celebration!

How do you track your running shoes?  I'm thinking of getting a running journal to help track and train for Dopey.

Furry Friday

So as I posted earlier this week, my lil Toby turned 8!

Happy Pup on my wedding day. =)

Given his endless supply of toys, I decided to bake him a cake from scratch!  Off to Pinterest I went, and after checking out a few of the many recipes, I settled on this one. 

On my was home from work Monday I stopped to get the ingredients to bake it the night before his birthday. Unfortunately (or not really) the AC repair man decided to stop by a few days earlier than expected since he was in the area so that took up a chunk of our evening since he showed up around 6pm. So, no baking happened, but our AC got fixed! :)

Once I got home from work Tuesday, I went for a nice 2 mile run and then returned to start baking. It was a really straightforward recipe...and I took pics of the process. 

All of my ingredients!

I even used the Mandolin to shred the carrot!

Yay for tiny spatulas for sticky stuff!

It's all in and ready to be mixed!

Eh - it smelled better than it looks...lol

Into the oven!

With the cake in the oven, I jumped in the shower and had dinner for myself before the waiting game began. I ended up cooking it just under an hour (recipe said 40 minutes) as the top of the cake was super soft. Things also just cook weird here at altitude...

Then I had to let the cake cool before I could add the cream cheese "frosting" and decor.  I (and I'm sure Toby) was starting to get impatient!

cool down time.

I finally gave in to the fact it was ever going to get super firm and the cream cheese wasn't going to get soft enough so I went to work and Toby finally got his cake around 10pm. ;)

I decided to add some shredded carrots on top for some extra color.

Happy Birthday Toby!

I had to get a picture with him and his cake, but in true Toby quirky style, he was afraid of the dish...so he didn't want it close to him, regardless of the yummy peanut butter smell. Haha

Can you tell he's uncomfortable here? lol

Of course now he's not scared...

Piece 1 of 2 for the evening. ;)

Overall it was quite a success and he's gotten to have some each night this week...the party just keeps going! :)  I think I'd definitely try making something for him again in the future, it was fun to do and I know he liked it.

Have you ever baked for your pet?

Wordless Wednesday

Yesterday may have been his birthday...but I'm the one who got the best gift in the mail! #newrunningsneaks

Happy Birthday Toby!!

Can't believe you came into the world 8 years ago!  You will forever be my pupcake. <3

Dumbo Double Dare Training - Week 5

Holy cow, it's June!  I have no idea where 2015 is going and the fact that we're almost half way through is crazy!  I guess time flies when you're having fun (or at least keeping busy...).

Week 5 of DDD training went pretty well.  I actually did my long run this week (woo me! lol) so it's all up hill from here my friends.  

During the week, I only got in 1 run - a nice lil 5k run - on Tuesday.

My own lil 5k.

Since the hubs was away on business, I tried a slightly different route with the hopes of ending by a shopping center so I could then walk to get my dinner and then head home.  Ultimately, I had to tweak the route a tad as the sidewalk turned into a non-sidewalk and - given the major road I was on - had to change it up a bit.  Luckily, I was able to make it all work out in the end even with the mid-route switcharoo.  

It was hot hot hot on Tuesday, so I felt a little slow (and my route was majorly lacking shade) but I got it done, and was rewarded with a yummy dinner. ;)  The Garmin also told me it was my fastest mile, 9:32, so woo me!

The long run this week was 6.5 miles.  I haven't run this far since our 10k a month ago.  I would be lying if I didn't say it was a bit of a struggle at times, and I walked far more than I care to admit.  Again, I was kind of playing with my route to come up with the mileage and run something a little differently than when I was doing my longer runs last fall for my training.  Aka I'm looking for longer loops to run, than the ~1 mile loop that I was running last year, over and over and over again. haha  The new route is ok, but has A LOT more hills in it, whereas my 1 mile loop is fairly flat (something hard to find here in Colorado!) so it's not crazy strenuous in that regard.  

Not the best pace, but not bad considering all the walking...

Oh well, I guess the hill work is a necessary evil - but I walked up the majorish ones so I don't know how much that did for me.  But at least it's switching it up for my body.

This week, I'm hoping to finally make it back to my hot yoga classes and hit all my runs - I want to really get back into focusing on my fitness and healthy habits.  With summer upon us, there is no better time than now!

How was your weekend? =)

Furry Friday